Fire nears Big Sur, residents flee
BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) - July 3, 2008 The stubborn blaze, which has burned more than 100 square miles
in the Los Padres National Forest, was just one of hundreds raging
around the state. And officials on Thursday reported California's
first firefighter death this year - a volunteer who collapsed on
the fire line in Mendocino County.
So much forest has burned near Big Sur that animals have been
forced out of their habitat and onto the roads. Buzzards flew
overhead to snatch up dead rodents and squirrels, and residents
reported seeing bear, deer and other big animals migrating toward
the Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile, crews near the Pacific Coast Highway fought back
flames from homes and historic landmarks, including the upscale
Ventana Inn, which was surrounded by crackling, burning brush.
Several homes perched on a ridge about a quarter-mile from the
cliffside inn fell victim to the fire the night before.
At least 20 homes have been destroyed in the area since the
blaze broke out June 21, up from 17 homes counted Wednesday. The
fire was only 5 percent contained by Thursday evening.
Many Big Sur residents followed mandatory evacuation orders
issued this week, but some chose to defy the orders, staying behind
to try to save their homes and businesses.
Kirk Gafill, general manager of Nepenthe, said he and five
employees were up all night trying to protect the cliffside
restaurant his grandparents built in 1949. Wearing dust masks, the
crew scrambled to stamp out embers, some the size of dinner plates,
that were dropping from the sky, he said.
"We know fire officials don't have the manpower to secure our
properties," Gafill said. "There are a lot of people in this
community not following evacuation orders. Based on what we saw
during Katrina and other disasters, we know we can only rely on
ourselves and our neighbors."
Greg Ambrosio, who lives next to Nepenthe, signed a waiver
Wednesday night to stay in his house. But his plans to stay were
disrupted when he was awoken by a neighbor in the middle of the
night who warned of the approaching inferno.
"Then there's a knock on the door, and we go outside and the
fire had just expanded. It was Armageddon," he said. "Just yellow
smoke and ash mixed with fire. It was just raining down."
Ambrosio said he and his wife grabbed their cat and drove to a
relative's house for the night.
A total of 367 wildfires are burning in the state, most ignited
by lightning, according to the California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, and the U.S. Forest
Service. That figure is down from a peak of roughly 1,500 fires
just a few days ago.
In all, the wildfires have scorched more than 790 square miles
and destroyed at least 65 structures across northern and central
California since June 20, according to Cal Fire.
With firefighting resources stretched thin early in the fire
season, counties have been recruiting volunteer firefighters to
help with smaller blazes.
On Thursday, volunteer firefighter Robert Roland, 63, died in a
Mendocino County hospital after collapsing a day earlier while
battling lightning-sparked blazes in the area, north of the San
Francisco Bay region. It was the first reported death of a
firefighter this season, and the governor ordered flags at the
Capitol to fly at half-staff.
Crews made progress at a separate wildfire burning nearly 130
square miles southeast of Big Sur. The blaze, also in Los Padres
National Forest, was about 95 percent contained Thursday.
Meanwhile, a fast-growing fire in the southern extension of the
Los Padres forest north of Santa Barbara forced about 45 residents
to evacuate as strong winds pushed flames toward homes in the
foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday declared a state of
emergency in Santa Barbara County to free up resources to fight
that blaze, which has burned nearly 4 square miles and threatened
about 200 buildings.
In the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield, crews
struggled to contain a blaze burning nearly 22 square miles.
Powerful gusts and choking smoke traveling up the steep canyons
hampered their progress, and residents of neighboring towns were
ordered to evacuate.
In Arizona, a wildfire that destroyed three homes in the
historic mining community of Crown King earlier in the week was
still just 10 percent contained Thursday morning. Evacuations
continued in the town, 50 miles north of Phoenix, and nearby
Horsethief Basin.
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Associated Press writers Scott Lindlaw, Malia Wollan and Jason
Dearen in San Francisco and Jordan Robertson in Carmel, Calif.,
contributed to this report.